[Self-Management] Is Stress Inevitable?
13 November 2012
Read by 1691 persons
Stress, a topic that has been written about extensively! But what do we really know about it?
So, a little test: among the 10 statements below, can you distinguish the true ones from the false ones?
1. Stress is an illness
2. A stressed manager is a stressful manager
3. Stress is a matter of character; you can't do much about it
4. One of the main resources for managing stress is your support network
5. Stress depends solely on the environment
6. I never show my annoyance, and I keep everything to myself, so I'm not stressed!
7. Women are more stressed than men
8. Executives are more stressed than non-executives
9. Those who succeed are never stressed
10. Stress is only caused by major life events
Have you guessed?
Let's see if we agree:
1. Stress is not an illness. On the contrary, it is a condition of our adaptation to the environment. However, prolonged exposure to it can lead to physical and psychological problems.
2. A tense manager tends to pass on the pressure they receive without filtering it. They then become, even involuntarily, a stressing agent.
Knowing that a supportive attitude from the manager has a real effect on the health of employees and that motivation is, according to Dr. Philippe Rodet - emergency physician, consultant, author of "Freeing Yourself from Stress: An Emergency Physician Tells" published by Eyrolles - the most powerful tool for preventing the onset of stress at work, we can only encourage managers to preserve their "balance/health" capital.
3. Stress is not inevitable. Of course, each of us is predisposed or accustomed to reacting in a certain way to imbalances and constraints, but we can all learn to change our perceptions and our ways of responding.
4. We have two types of resources to cope with stress: our own resources and those provided by our support network. The support of others, whether it be presence, listening, encouragement, or concrete help, plays an essential and often overlooked role in the onset and experience of stress.
5. False! Of course, the environment throws obstacles in our path! But as Epictetus points out,
It is not things themselves that disturb men, but their judgments about these things.
We are the best actors of our inner peace, even if we often have the opposite impression!
6. Internalizing emotions or keeping quiet about difficulties does not mean that one is calm and serene! Life inevitably involves setbacks and frustrations, and keeping one's feelings to oneself generates stress...which is invisible and insidiously "pollutes" us. Talking allows us to evacuate sources of stress, to lighten their weight.
7. 8. Each of us, men and women, executives or not, is subject to stress. However, the reactions can be different. Thus, in stressful situations, the responses of women, particularly intellectual ones, would be more effective - study published in December 2010 in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, thanks to a hormone, oxytocin, whose effect is amplified in them. On the other hand, they would present higher cardiovascular risks - study conducted by the Research Center of the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) and the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Montreal (UdeM).
9. Success and serenity do not always go hand in hand. Sometimes, even, success causes stress, particularly related to the fear of failure. Again, it all depends on how we view the situation and our ability to cope with it.
10. Some painfully significant events (bereavement, divorce, dismissal, etc.) are stressors. Nevertheless, any situation, sometimes trivial to those around, can generate significant stress in the individual confronted with it. Let's avoid any judgment!
Finally, recognizing and understanding stress, without denying it or demonizing it, is perhaps the first step towards prevention.
Jean-Noël Chaintreuil.
Jnchaintreuil.com
Posted online on November 13, 2012.
So, a little test: among the 10 statements below, can you distinguish the true ones from the false ones?
1. Stress is an illness
2. A stressed manager is a stressful manager
3. Stress is a matter of character; you can't do much about it
4. One of the main resources for managing stress is your support network
5. Stress depends solely on the environment
6. I never show my annoyance, and I keep everything to myself, so I'm not stressed!
7. Women are more stressed than men
8. Executives are more stressed than non-executives
9. Those who succeed are never stressed
10. Stress is only caused by major life events
Have you guessed?
Let's see if we agree:
1. Stress is not an illness. On the contrary, it is a condition of our adaptation to the environment. However, prolonged exposure to it can lead to physical and psychological problems.
2. A tense manager tends to pass on the pressure they receive without filtering it. They then become, even involuntarily, a stressing agent.
Knowing that a supportive attitude from the manager has a real effect on the health of employees and that motivation is, according to Dr. Philippe Rodet - emergency physician, consultant, author of "Freeing Yourself from Stress: An Emergency Physician Tells" published by Eyrolles - the most powerful tool for preventing the onset of stress at work, we can only encourage managers to preserve their "balance/health" capital.
3. Stress is not inevitable. Of course, each of us is predisposed or accustomed to reacting in a certain way to imbalances and constraints, but we can all learn to change our perceptions and our ways of responding.
4. We have two types of resources to cope with stress: our own resources and those provided by our support network. The support of others, whether it be presence, listening, encouragement, or concrete help, plays an essential and often overlooked role in the onset and experience of stress.
5. False! Of course, the environment throws obstacles in our path! But as Epictetus points out,
It is not things themselves that disturb men, but their judgments about these things.
We are the best actors of our inner peace, even if we often have the opposite impression!
6. Internalizing emotions or keeping quiet about difficulties does not mean that one is calm and serene! Life inevitably involves setbacks and frustrations, and keeping one's feelings to oneself generates stress...which is invisible and insidiously "pollutes" us. Talking allows us to evacuate sources of stress, to lighten their weight.
7. 8. Each of us, men and women, executives or not, is subject to stress. However, the reactions can be different. Thus, in stressful situations, the responses of women, particularly intellectual ones, would be more effective - study published in December 2010 in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, thanks to a hormone, oxytocin, whose effect is amplified in them. On the other hand, they would present higher cardiovascular risks - study conducted by the Research Center of the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) and the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Montreal (UdeM).
9. Success and serenity do not always go hand in hand. Sometimes, even, success causes stress, particularly related to the fear of failure. Again, it all depends on how we view the situation and our ability to cope with it.
10. Some painfully significant events (bereavement, divorce, dismissal, etc.) are stressors. Nevertheless, any situation, sometimes trivial to those around, can generate significant stress in the individual confronted with it. Let's avoid any judgment!
Finally, recognizing and understanding stress, without denying it or demonizing it, is perhaps the first step towards prevention.
Jean-Noël Chaintreuil.
Jnchaintreuil.com
Posted online on November 13, 2012.
